Funding for victims of crime launched

Matthew Grove handing out crime victim cash.

A former leading light for North Lincolnshire’s Police Authority has welcomed plans for the area’s Victims’ Services Fund to be handled at local level.

Money handed to bodies such as Victim Support and Women’s Aid – which this year is £400,000 – was previously handled centrally by the Ministry of Justice, but in a move to devolve powers to the regions it is now handled by Humberside Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Grove.

Deputy vice chairman of Epworth Town Council, Don Stewart, a former police authority representative, said: “Devolving funding in this way is a great move. I have always been a big supporter of this way of thinking. This will make fund managers more accountable and get funding to exactly where it’s needed the most.”

The Commissioner will take over responsibility for these local services from the MoJ in October, and these interim funds are available to be used until the end of March 2015, after which Matthew Grove will introduce fully commissioned victims’ services across the Humberside Police Force area of Northern Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire.

Speaking on the launch of the fund Matthew Grove said: ‘When I meet regularly with victims of crime, they tell me not just of the ordeal they suffered at the hands of the perpetrator, but the support and sometimes lack of support they were given by the police, the criminal justice system and other agencies. The victim must always come first as these crimes erode and damage lives.”

To find out more and how to apply for funding go to www.humberside-pcc.gov.uk/Plans-and-Policies/Victims-Services-Fund.